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Battle of Cogorderos

Villamejil, Astorga, León

1 Villages · 1 Historical milestones

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Battle of Cogorderos

Historical milestone · Villamejil, Astorga, León

Image of Villamejil, not of the place itself.

The Battle of Cogorderos was a Spanish victory over the occupying French troops on 23 June 1811, beside this village in La Cepeda, in the midst of the Peninsular War. Days earlier, Marshal Santocildes had entered Astorga after fourteen months of French occupation, taking advantage of the fact that Marmont had taken troops to Extremadura against Wellington. The Frenchman Valletaux attacked with numerical superiority the Spanish 2nd Division under General Taboada, south of Villamejil. The fighting, joined at midday by the Tuerto river, lasted more than four hours until Colonel Méndez de Vigo arrived to help the Spanish with the Oviedo regiment; three bayonet charges routed the French, who withdrew leaving prisoners behind. Valletaux died in the first charge.

23 de junio de 1811

Photo: La Madrigata (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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